Hayden Helios
Hayden Helios is a medical student and mutant, with the ability to emit and manipulate UV Radiation. He was a student on exchange from Northern Ireland, before being picked up by Stark Industries as a medical intern. Originally planning to suppress his powers in favour of becoming a full Medical Doctor, he retrained his skills as a result of Magneto's attack on Stark Tower in order to fight against the Mutant Brotherhood. Early Life Hayden's parents moved to London before he was born, as a result of a relative being murdered during The Troubles, as they lived in a poorer Republican neighbourhood and wanted to raise a family away from violence. This shaped Hayden's opinions of extremism, eventually leading to his loathing of Sectarian and Mutant terrorists alike. However, his early life in London was uneventful, although led to him developing a slight British accent. Life in Belfast At 12, his parents decided that the situation in Belfast had become safe enough to return to. They moved back into their old neighbourhood which was still fiercly Nationalist, so Hayden was initially bullied due to his accent, though thanks to his taller size for his age he was able to fend for himself. He learned about the generations of resentment between the Unionists and Republicans in his home country, which would then give him an understanding of the resentment between Mutants and Humans in later life. Suddenly, when he was 14, his parents died in a car accident. Whilst this was tragic in itself, his powers began to develop and he was too terrified and depressed to report them. However, his parents death won him sympathy with his peers, and he finally became accepted. This unfortunately led him to meet several violent figures, who introduced him to crime. At best he was a petty thief and at worst he was a violent thug, but he still felt the effects of isolation and grief. Things finally came to a head when he was 16. After a bar fight, he decided to go home instead of risking further violence. On his way back to his house, he was followed by a boy from a Loyalist neighbourhood who recognised him. While Hayden originally ignored his racial slurs, the boy eventually insulted Hayden's parents. Hayden, who had still not recovered from their sudden death, snapped and killed him using his UV powers by burning off the boy's face. He originally felt no guilt over the murder, and escaped blame by claiming he was part of the bar fight. This led to him being arrested for assault, but his age meant he put on a community service programme instead of being sent to prison. Enlightenment and Medical Training This was a turning point in his life. He was quickly noted by the Community service officer for his natural intelligence, and was told that he had the potential to be successful in life. At this point, his ambition to become a Doctor became apparent, and he was offered a way out of violence by being given a Medical scholarship to study at a Private school. Here, Hayden finally realised his love of studying and academics, and topped the classes in Biology and Chemistry. He also had a relationship with a middle class girl from a Unionist family, which finally made Hayden realise his former intolerance, and led to him becoming more respectful. Most importantly, he trained his powers secretly, learning to control them - mostly out of a guilt that developed from the murder he committed. He was eventually offered a University place in New York in Medicine, which he quickly accepted. His early training as a Doctor was mostly uneventful, though he developed an interest in Microbiology as a side to his Medical studies - as well as becoming more aware of the politics surrounding mutants. After finishing his degree and training, he applied for an internship at Stark Industries. Stark Industries His first week was more eventful than his training - he was quickly outed as a Mutant, first by Maggie Ashbrook and then by Tony Stark. Luckily, his status as a student meant that he avoided having to register as a Mutant. He developed a friendship with Maggie, mainly due to the fact that they both had electromagnetic emissions as their powers and also due to a suspicion of Stark. He also began a casual relationship with Jennifer Walters, which led to endless mocking by Stark. During Magneto's attack on Stark Tower, Hayden stayed by Loki's holding cell while Thor helped Maggie escape - when Maggie returned to free Loki, her emissions meant that Hayden was deafened and put in extreme pain while he watched hopelessly as they escaped. This ended his friendship with her, but made him forgive Stark for his behaviour, as Stark seemed genuinely regretful for making Maggie turn to Loki and Magneto. As a result of the attack, he took up Professor Charles Xavier's offer of training his powers, knowing he needed to defend himself if Magneto struck again. Category:Characters Category:Original Characters Category:Mutants